Los Angeles Art Blog

Douglas Little's gothy, elegant, neo-Victorian D.L.&Co. line of candles and curiosities is one of my favorite home decor design lines of all time. This Bust of Dierdre Candle is a perfect example of why. Based on a neo-classical statue, the bust weeps tears of hot wax when lit. Though I can't imagine anyone actually lighting the thing, as the candle is priced at a tear-inducing $450. It's more a work of art than a candle. Beautiful.

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Last weekend at Pacific Media Expo, we were blown away by the overwhelming representation of cuteness. From tea parties to purikura booths, the convention was brimming with all things adorable. Check out what we saw below.

Shannon Cottrell

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Did you know that you can get tattoos that glow under UV light? The tattoos are invisible in normal light (minus the possible scarring from the tattoo procedure itself). They've been around for a decade apparently. Over the years different special black light reactive inks have appeared on the market. (Here's the Wiki on it.) I don't know how safe this stuff is, whether it's carcinogenic or allergenic or not. For a while, people were using Everglow, which is a boat paint not meant for use on human skin.

People get dragons, glowing jellyfish, spaceships, skulls, bones. They sometimes get the UV tattoo over preexisting designs for a little extra dimension.

If you need to hide your tats for a job, or if you spend lots of time in black light, or feel like emulating a radioactive superhero, or are just looking for a way to spice up your tramp stamp, this may be the thing for you.
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Would you put this guy on your head?

​Reid Peppard makes accessories out of taxidermy. Like this, uh, guinea pig (?) hair comb. Peppard also makes rat bowties ("black leather bowtie with medium white rat head" and blue Swarovski crystal eyes) and rat medallions and rat coin purses and pigeon wing head pieces. The mouse cufflinks are so subtle they are almost wearable. Almost. Imagine shaking hands with the guy and seeing the little furry heads. And screaming.

What mouse?

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The expression on the model says it all.

​ The expression on this model says it all. I have two rats on my head...what?

From old downtown theatres to dives to dance clubs, LA continues to be a bonanza of burlesque. Big or small, demure or trashy, themed and prop-filled or bodaciously bare, seems like there's always a gaggle strutting -and stripping off- their stuff somewhere in town, and has been ever since The Velvet Hammer troupe emerged in the early '90's

Though Hammer is no more (Lucha Va Voom splintered from the group with much success, though) another gal who came up around the same time remains one of, if not the, queen of the scene: Ms. Dita Von Teese. When it comes to illustriousness (and we're not even counting the notoriety of once being married to a certain shock rocker), retro appeal and most notably, blindingly gorgeous production value, Teese, who was born and raised in Michigan and started her performing career while living in and then emerging from Orange County, always delivers.

On the eve of her first major production in Los Angeles in over two years, the performer speaks with Style Council about why she hasn't performed in LA for a while, how she put together her new one, her new signature cocktail for Cointreau, and other projects she's got up her bedazzled sleeve.

Marie Gardeski is a 29-year-old maker of soap shaped like hands. The handsoaps are weird, but cute, and have caught the attention of brides and celebrities and other people who are looking for something unusual but useful to give as presents, or to display in the bathroom. The hands are keeping her busy.

How long have you been making the handsoaps?

I first made soap in the shape of a doll hand about 5 years ago when I was in graduate school at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. I made an artwork consisting of over 2500 little soap hands. After the piece was exhibited several times, I had to think of something to do with all those hands. Since they were functional as soap, I decided to leave them here and there, on friend's sinks, in public restrooms, etc. Seeing these bunches of little hands on random sinks made me see them as a potential product, not just the remains of an artwork.

1. A Word on Bathrooms: If you ever get a chance to pee in the Los Angeles Theater in historic downtown LA, I urge you to visit the Ladies' restroom. There, you will see this. It's way more impressive than I've managed to capture in the photo.

2. The Guests: Can you imagine these guys at Paris Fashion Week? If Vogue ever ran an issue of the magazine where this guy (in a kind of gimp outfit) was featured, I would buy a subscription. The lovely couple below attended the Skingraft show.

Sjobeck's dresses, Inspired by the designer's grandfather. For real.

Day 3. The final day of Boxeight shows. It's nice to see the two bohemian Taiwanese sisters who design The Battalion line are back and bohemian as ever. They showed at GenArt last year. This season, their theme is "The New World" (appropriately enough), and they're dressing women in French military coats, Lewis and Clark inspired cargo vests, sliced-up Pocahontas tunics and tricorner hats.

Everything is impeccably tailored. I mean, can those girls sew a bamboo jersey jodhpur-type stretch legging or what? Not a ripple or bumpy seam in sight. The materials are eco-friendly--the leather and fur is "veggie" leather and fur. Not killing animals for beauty is always a plus!

Some conversations about beauty are hilarious. "Do you see any little hairs on my face in this light?" the girl sitting behind me at the Sahaja show asked her friend. The Sahaja show, by the way, employed the hottest male models. Dark, beefy guys with bulging biceps, huge afros and eyeglasses. The rumply plaid shirts and cardigan sweaters remind me of items you'd pick up at the Gap--not necessarily a bad thing, where menswear is concerned--but then later on two guests raved about them. Raved. So, it just goes to show how subjective this stuff is.

Young model from the martinMARTIN show: She is 18 years old.

Ah, Boxeight. It's messy in the best, most flattering sense of the word. As one reporter sitting next to me said, "Isn't it totally like the kids have taken over?" Yes, for sure.

This fashion event is rough around the edges and has a sense of humor about itself. That last bit alone puts it leaps and bounds ahead of most other fashion events I've been to. For instance, the DJ at the COA show is playing Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" ("36-24-36? Only if she's 5'3...my anaconda don't want none unless she's got buns hon"). I was waiting for the skinny girls to come out to fully appreciate the irony, but alas: COA is a mens' line.

The clothes are fine and wearable and should do well in the stores--any girl would be happy to have her boyfriend show up for a date in one of their quilted biker jackets over crinkly acid wash jeans. (Though, maybe not the peach-colored jeans.) One jacket is made of black pleather patent lambskin so shiny it looks like it's been licked. Also, there are men--okay, gay men--in the ladies restroom. And what a restroom. There is nothing like peeing in a room done up in marble and gold.

Continue reading " Fashion Week Diary, Day 2:"...

It's a strange time for fashion. The 500-pound gorilla in the room threatening to squash all the 98-pound models is, of course, the crappy economy. If you remember, our city's semi-longstanding Fashion Week at Smashbox died a sad death last year in October, just before the nation's banks started self-destructing. The arts collective Boxeight has since thrown itself into the breach. So how do you do Fashion Week if belts are tightening and nobody has any money to spend?

"Somewhere between a coy girl and sexy siren, M·A·C Hello Kitty represents the desire in all of us to be both innocent and mischievous," says their PR. She is coy girl, sexy siren, and all cat.

I haven't seen Marley & Me, and I don't plan to. My beloved Pit/Boxer mix who passed away last year was also named Marley, and let's just say I can't even watch the commercials without getting misty. Never read the book either, but I know what happens and it sounds like it hits way too close to home.

Big canines are exuberant and comforting companions, and if I get another pet some day it will definitely be a substantial breed. Still, my inner -and outer- girlie girl can't resist the cuteness of the purse size pooch. Instant cuddles where ever ya go, all the colorful little clothing and poops the size of malt balls- what's not to love?

It's been a wonderfully wiggy/winky week in LA, but last night's bash at World of Wonder gallery for Rupaul's new TV reality competition Drag Race, definitely took the (pan)cake. 

Above, babes in line for RuPaul's Drag Race bash. Dresscode: color, sparkle and fake hair with flair.

What's there to say about America's favorite trainwreck, except, well, the meds seem to be working. On The Record, the MTV doc that aired this past Sunday, and every night since, sought to be a sympathetic, somewhat real attempt at changing Britney Spears image and launching her new record, Circus, but it left us feeling blah and empty... kinda like we were the one on anti-depressants.

The release, full of recycled-beats and ho-hum come hithery, studio-enhanced vox, doesn't break any new ground, and we'd expect nothing less (or more). It's a perfect backdrop collection for more choreography-packed videos (and a drunken night in da club), which is the really the point, right?

But enough about the popstar's dancey-drivel and fragile mental state. With new mag covers and TV appearances popping up everyday, Spears is out there full force, hoping that looking good again will make her good again in every way. She didn't have much help in the style department for a long while and we're not even talking about the shaved head, crotch shots or scary mascara job from the infamous Matt Lauer interview, but rather, her daily duds- the braless, shoeless, and haphazard looks that made even her most expensive stuff seem cheap.
 
So is losing a few lbs, and paying a visit to the beauty parlour, a stylist (and pharmacy) all it takes to go from white trashy nutjob to pop-chart princess once again? Has she turned it all around image-wise or is Brit already "worn out" in a real sense? Let's take a look.

The X Factor
Extensions are so two years ago, unless of course you're a Playboy bunny. Brit's blonde locks still look really fake, but at least they're being maintained, and in this shot from Glamour magazine, they actually look good.  Or, it could be a wig. Either way, it's very Bridget Bardot.

Oops.. you know
The lip-synching lass did two numbers on Good Morning America this week, one in her classic mid-drift baring top and leggings, and another in a high-waisted shorts ensemble. She might be toned again, but we suggest she stay on the high side. Even Madonna doesn't show off her abs anymore, and you know you can bounce a silver dollar off those suckers!
Au Naturale
Her recent Rolling Stone spread went for the less is more idea, but the truth is, she's wearing tons of makeup in it. Still, she looks relaxed, and in this very calculated quest to regain a viable music biz career, looking real (but still attractive) should go further in warming up fans than a constricted glam get-up. Of course, PETA is another story.
Sex... I'm A.....
The naughty secretary, the biker chick, the naked girl. When you don't know who you are anymore, simply throw out every male fantasy you can think of and something will stick. The clip and hook from "Womanizer" does kinda adhere to the brain, though we'd much rather hear, say Gwen Stefani's take. Repetitive lyrics, expertly-staged dance moves and colorful costumes are still a "Toxic" combination on video. Too bad life aint a video.

You can't go anywhere these days without someone busting out with their digital camera and taking your picture (i.e. stealing your soul) with it. Maybe you always look like crap in them. Maybe you always ask people to delete-delete or threaten to murder them if they post it on Facebook. If so, this is for you: Carson Kressley (remember him? The funny, hyper one from Queer Eye For The Straight Guy?) and Nikon made a series of videos called Look Good In Pictures to show you how to look better in pictures.

He has suggestions like: practice at home in front of the mirror figuring out which is your best angle. Then adopt that pose whenever someone takes your photo. And beware of background distractions like lamps sticking up out of your head. There's a lot more. Like, how to take a good online dating photo, how to take good night photos, how to take good vacation and pregnancy photos. How to take good portraits for your corporate website. And, my favorite, how to use your camera when you're shopping.

Check it out. Plus, Kressley is pretty endearing in a cute, squirrelly kind of way and is just entertaining to watch on his own.

Hey it happens. I guess. Agent Provocateur's got your areolas covered with their nipple balm, called Titillation. The "nipple refresher" also comes with a lip plumper for those "high traffic areas." But you might want to consider taking it easy with those nipple clamps...

$40, available at Bloomingdales, www.agentprovocateur.com